1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for facilitating cell detection using additional physical channels in a wireless communication system.
2. Introduction
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems.
In a wireless communication system, pilot signals are often broadcasted by base stations to serve as beacons for access terminals in search of a cell. In order to detect the pilot signals in a WCDMA system, access terminals may, for example, perform either a Three-Step search or a pseudorandom noise (PN) search to detect a pilot signal. Both of these searches may be carried out using a set of integration parameters, such as a coherent integration length Nc and a non-coherent integration length Nn. Typically, the values of the integration parameters depend in part on the configuration of the access terminal and may have a significant effect on the probability of detecting a cell. An increase in the probability of cell detection is desirable, as it may allow an access terminal to more quickly and effectively locate and access the best available cell, resulting in better signal transmission and reception, often at reduced transmission power levels by both the base station and the access terminal.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus for facilitating detection of cells in a wireless communication system by optimizing the search integration parameters and utilizing additional physical channels.